Tellius High School
by celticskyedancer
Summary: AU. When Ike start their year at Tellius High School, he creates friendships, rivalries, and quite possible love. One thing is for certain: this year will definitely be eventful.
1. First Impressions

_A/N: Just a little idea that wouldn't leave me alone; my brothers helped out a lot with the plot and humor elements. I'm using this first chapter to see if anyone has any interest in it. _

**Tellius High School**

Chapter One: First Impressions

Ike looked up at the impressive, beige school building before him: Tellius High School. The first high school to integrate and accept both beorc and laguz students. Ike was both excited and apprehensive. Excited because this was his first year of high school: something he was really looking forward to (aside from the traditional freshman hazing.) Apprehensive because his father was the Principal, and well…Ike didn't exactly have the most impressive school record. He was not a straight A and B student like his younger sister Mist. In fact, had it not been for an intensive two weeks of cramming prior to last year's exams, Ike would have flunked the eighth grade. Also, Ike had a history of disciplinary issues; what irked Ike was the fact that his teachers completely disregarded the fact that in most of his fights he was sticking up for his best friend, Soren.

Said best friend stood next to him stoically, scowling as usual. The two made an odd pair. Tall and short. Sloppy and neat. Jock and nerd. (Well not really since Ike never fit in with the traditional jock crowd, and Soren fit the goth mold more than the nerd one.) But the two got along well. Ike stood up for Soren (who was a constant target for bullies) while Soren kept Ike passing (a difficult task for those who attempted tutoring said block-head.)

"Aren't you excited about high school?" Ike asked.

"Oh yeah. Another four years of hazing, bullying, and fighting off the insanity which comes with tutoring you. I'm thrilled." That was another thing about Soren. Besides being exceptionally brilliant, he was extremely cynical. His razor-sharp, always sarcastic tongue usually deterred most people. (It was a wonder Ike had lasted so long.)

"You could be happy about something," Ike replied, fidgeting with the tie around his neck. Ashunera, he hated school uniforms. They were so uncomfortable.

"Hey," an amiable voice said from behind Ike and Soren.

Ike turned around to see a cat laguz with light blue hair, a brown, floppy hat, and mismatched eyes (one green, one violet) walking toward them. "Hey," Ike replied.

"So I take it you two are freshman here also?" the cat asked.

Ike nodded. "Yeah. I'm Ike."

"Ranulf." He looked expectantly at Soren. "And you are?"

"Not interested," the raven-haired teen replied.

"Nice to meet you, Not Interested," Ranulf said with a smirk.

"Don't mind Soren," Ike replied. "He has a…charming personality and is always pissed off at the world."

"Well every school has at least one goth," Ranulf said, earning a glare from Soren.

"So where are you from?" Ike asked.

"Gallia. Where else?"

"Oh. I guess I should have known that."

"Yeah," Soren muttered. "Try using your brain for once, Ike. Suddenly the world will seem full of possibilities." It took all of Ike's self-control not to whack Soren upside the head.

A group of people laughing caught Ike's attention. He glanced over his shoulder as a trio of students headed toward the school. One was obviously an upperclassman because of the familiarity with which she walked on the school grounds. She had long, light blue hair with long bangs that covered part of her face. Walking slightly behind her was a boy about Ike's own age, obviously her brother because they shared the same light blue hair.

But it was the third person whom caught Ike's attention. She was about his age with long, flowing emerald hair and golden eyes. It was really her laugh that he had heard, light and pretty. She casually glanced in his direction, their gazes locking. They held eye contact until the blue-haired girl had to jerk her out of the way of a flagpole. The blue-haired girl must have played it off as a joke because they all laughed. However, she shot Ike a very pointed glare.

He looked away quickly. The phrase "if looks could kill" briefly flashed through his mind. The message in her gaze was clear: "I'm watching you, and if you come near this girl you will die." He found both Ranulf and Ike staring at him strangely. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Looks like someone has a little crush," Ranulf replied, smirking.

"What!" Ike exclaimed. "What gives you that idea?"

"You were practically drooling over her," the cat replied.

"I just saw her for the first time."

"Love at first sight."

"That's a load of bullshit."

"Stop denying it."

Ike sighed in frustration. "Soren, help me out here."

The dark-haired boy looked up at Ike with his red eyes. "Well, I've never seen you stare at a girl for that long before."

Ike scowled. "Not helping, Soren."

"I'm not exactly trying to help."

"I bet I could hook you up with that girl," Ranulf said.

"I was just innocently looking at her," Ike said.

"There was definitely some kind of chemistry going on between you two," Ranulf replied. "I may have just met you, but I can tell you need my help."

"One look." Ike glanced at Soren. "Tell Ranulf…"

"The fact that you're making a big deal out of this isn't helping," the cynical youth muttered.

Ike rolled his eyes. "Look Ranulf, I appreciate the offer, but I am not the kind of person who goes looking for a girlfriend. The only girls I even talk to are my mother and sister."

"Then you are in desperate need of my assistance." Ike rolled his eyes (again). Ranulf was so getting a punch in the face at the opportune moment. "Trust me, Ike. I can get you this girl. Just stick with me, and you'll be just fine."

"Yeah," a voice behind Ranulf said. "Seeing as the girl you've been trying to get since fifth grade has been rejecting you since...fifth grade."

"No one asked you, Janaff," Ranulf said heatedly, turning around to glare at a young hawk laguz with bushy, light brown hair and brown wings.

"Just keeping you humble," Janaff replied, chuckling. He turned to face Ike and Soren. "By the way, I'm Janaff." He turned back to Ranulf. "You picked up some beorc buddies real quick."

Ranulf shrugged. "I wouldn't consider the Goth a friend."

"This Goth is about to hurt you," Soren retorted.

"I'm so scared," Ranulf started to say, but trailed off when his gaze landed on a cat laguz with short, strawberry blond hair and a green ribbon around her neck. "If you'll excuse me," he said, slinking off to talk to the girl.

"Just watch," Janaff whispered, a smug grin on his face.

"Hello Lethe," he said smoothly.

"Hello Ranulf," she said tersely, brushing past him.

"Hey Lethe, can I ask you something?" Ranulf asked.

"If it has anything to do with me going on a date with you or becoming a girlfriend, then the answer is no."

"What if I asked you if you did not want to be my girlfriend?"

"No!"

"Ha! That means you_ want_ to be my girlfriend."

Lethe whirled around, violet eyes blazing, and whacked Ranulf in the head with her heavy backpack. She stormed off without saying another word.

Ranulf walked back over to Ike, Soren, and Janaff, rubbing the back of his head. "I call that a bit harsh," he muttered.

"I call it pathetic," Soren retorted, appearing disinterested but trying his hardest not to smirk. Ike _was _smirking. And Janaff was trying his hardest not to die laughing. And failing miserably.

"Thank you for that amazing morale boost," Ranulf replied as a school bell rung. The cat grabbed Janaff's backpack and began to drag the laughing hawk toward the school building.

Ike slid into an empty seat in his homeroom. His homeroom teacher was Sephiran (who was also his history teacher.) Unfortunately, he did not know anyone else in his homeroom.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" a soft, kind, gentle voice asked.

Ike looked up and felt his mouth go dry. The girl he had noticed earlier was standing before him. Up close, he could truly appreciate her beauty. Ike swallowed. _Get a grip, Ike. You just met her._ "No, I don't mind," he said, moving his backpack out of the way. "I'm Ike."

The girl smiled as she sat down. "I'm Elincia. What's your first class?"

Ike pulled out a sheet of paper. "English," he finally said.

"That's mine also," the girl said. She glanced at his schedule. "Oh, wow. We have similar schedules. Our math and science classes are switched though."

"That's interesting," Ike said, swallowing again. Why did he suddenly feel awkward around her? _Almost all of my classes are with her?_

The starting bell rang, interrupting Ike's thoughts. After a few minutes of announcements and a message from the Principal welcoming everyone back to school, Sephiran took control of the class. "Since this is your first class, and your first year of high school, why doesn't everyone introduce him or herself? I'll start. I'm Sephiran, a history teacher for lower classmen." He pointed to a student in the corner to start. The introductions continued to go around the room.

"I'm Sothe," a green-haired youth said, sitting near the back of the room.

"I'm Micaiah," the silver-haired girl next to Sothe said.

"I'm Marcia," a girl with short pink hair said.

"I'm Elincia," Elincia said.

"I'm Ike."

The introductions continued around the room, ending with a quiet, shy girl with short, dark hair named Laura.

"You will report to homeroom every morning for ten minutes every morning," Sephiran announced. "This is where you will hear any important messages. Homeroom also generally turns into a quick place to finish homework. I will tolerate this, but I also discourage you putting off your homework until the last minute. That strategy is never successful." The dismissal bell rang. "You may also come to me if you are having a problem."

"So how was your summer?" Sothe asked Micaiah as they headed to their English class.

"It was great. Sanaki went away for a summer camp so I got a whole two weeks of no little sister."

"I bet you missed her after three days."

"Yeah…" Micaiah admitted, laughing. She noticed Sothe glaring down the hallway ahead of her. "What?" she asked.

"I don't like the way that guy is staring at you," Sothe replied.

Micaiah followed his gaze. "You're really overprotective, Sothe. That's just Pelleas."

"You know him?" Sothe asked, shocked.

"I met him over the summer," Micaiah answered. She grabbed Sothe's hand. "Come on, I'll introduce you real quick."

"We only have two-and-a-half minutes to make it to English," Sothe replied, but Micaiah was already heading towards the boy with wavy blue hair.

"Hello Pelleas," she said, smiling. Sothe did not like the way Micaiah was smiling at him.

"Hello Micaiah," Pelleas replied, returning her smile. Needless to say, Sothe _definitely _did not like the way Pelleas was smiling back at Micaiah.

"This is Sothe," Micaiah said, introducing the spiky, green-haired youth.

"So this is the Sothe you're always talking about," Pelleas replied. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Well it's nice to meet you although I'm afraid Micaiah hasn't really mentioned you much," Sothe said.

"Only because I haven't gotten to that part of summer yet," Micaiah replied defensively. "I tell my stories in chronological order." She turned to face Pelleas. "What class do you have next?"

"Science," Pelleas replied.

"Oh," the silver-haired girl said. "I was hoping you had English like Sothe and me." She noticed that Sothe had started walking away. "Where are you going?"

"English. We only have a minute to…"

"Oh my gosh! Sorry Pelleas, but I have to go. I'll talk to you some more later." She grabbed Sothe's hand and started to drag him down the hallway. "Come on, slowpoke."

_You're the one who wanted to stop and chitchat with Mr. Summer Boy,_ Sothe thought. His stomach got all twisted when he remembered the way Micaiah and Pelleas were staring at each other. _No matter what, I am _not_ jealous,_ he thought although he knew he was lying to himself.

If there was anything Tibarn hated more than teaching AP Calculus first thing in the morning, it was teaching On-level Senior Math. AP Calculus was definitely not meant to be an early morning class. None of the students were awake; sometimes the teacher was not even awake. Nothing like an AP Calculus Test to fry a person's brain in the morning. Of course, AP Calculus was a walk in the park (or a flight through a cloudless sky) compared to On-level Senior Math.

Ashunera, Tibarn wanted to kill himself when he found out he would be teaching Senior Math first thing in the morning. First off, all the students were asleep. Secondly, this was the class of students who generally shirked off school assignments and cared little (if anything) about learning. These were the students who expected an easy math class. Well Tibarn was not about to give them an easy math class. If this block was going to be hell for him, it had better be two times hell for them.

"All right, class," Tibarn said. "We'll begin these first few days with a little review."

"Okay, teach," a red-head in the back said.

"We'll begin with a simple equation that serves as my main rule in this class. You (draws a picture of the obnoxious, ponytailed redhead) times your smart-alecky comments (draws a speech bubble) plus me (draws a picture of himself smiling)…Of course, I won't be smiling (changes the expression from happy to angry) times my talons…Of course, you won't be smirking anymore (changes the smirking expression on his redhead drawing to a scared expression) equals this." Tibarn drew a tombstone which read "R.I.P. Shinon." "Any question?" He looked around the room expectantly. "No? Good. Let's begin with the distributive property."

About halfway through the lesson, Tibarn wrote a problem on the board. "And by using the distributive property, we can see that x equals…Gatrie, care to answer the question for us?"

A larger beorc teen looked up quickly, trying to appear innocent. "Could you repeat the problem?"

"No. Perhaps if you were paying attention rather than staring at Miss Tanith up here, you would know the answer."

Said brunette turned around in her seat, and shot Gatrie a very dirty look. He winked at her. Tanith subtly flipped him off.

"Please keep all rude gestures to yourself until you leave this classroom," Tibarn said although his back was turned to the class. Tanith scowled. "Haar, will you answer the question?"

"X equals two," Haar replied, yawning as he lifted his brunette head briefly off his desk.

"Good," Tibarn said. "But I would ask that you refrain from sleeping in my classroom, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Haar mumbled, still yawning.

Tibarn sighed and continued the lesson plan. Ashunera, he really hated Senior Math.

"Well Titania doesn't seem like she'll be a bad teacher," Ranulf said, walking out of the English classroom. "A little on the strict side, but not too much of a martinet." Ranulf smirked. "And your crush was there too."

"I do not have a crush on Elincia."

Ranulf raised an eyebrow at Ike. "You know her name?"

Ike shrugged. "She's in my homeroom, and everybody had to introduce themselves."

"So where's your goth buddy?" Ranulf asked, noting Ike's discomfort.

"Soren and I never have the same schedule."

"Do the teachers like to keep the two of you apart?"

"Soren's practically a genius."

"Oh, I get it. You take all the dumb classes, and he takes the smart classes."

"You are in those 'dumb' classes with me."

"Only some of them, Ike-buddy. I'm in a higher math and science class."

"Ike-buddy?" Ike asked.

"Well, you can't really make a nickname out of Ike, so…"

Ike just shook his head. "Why does math have to be my second class? They shouldn't assign math classes in the morning…or around lunch…or in the afternoon. Actually, they shouldn't assign math classes at all."

Ranulf just shook his head. "You need to take math if you want to graduate."

"That's what _they_ say," Ike muttered.

"You make it sound like school is some government conspiracy."

"It _is_ a government conspiracy."

"Ike, you are one crazy beorc."

"That's what Soren says…minus the beorc part. He thinks I'm crazy."

"You _are _crazy."

"You haven't even known me for two hours. You have no right to call me crazy."

Ranulf laughed. "Well, see you in history after science, crazy-buddy," the cat said, laughing as he walked away.

"Hey Gatrie," Shinon said, shoving a bite of sandwich into his mouth. The redhead refused to eat the cafeteria "crap" as he dubbed it. "I think I found who our first fish will be."

"Who?" Gatrie asked, glancing over at one of the lunch tables where the freshmen were beginning to seat themselves for the lower class lunch.

"The one in the corner, with the salad. Reading."

"Oh, the goth one?"

"Yeah."

"When do you want to make our move?"

"After the fish lunch and our fifth period, as always."

"Poor fish."

"Since when do you feel sorry for fish?"

"I don't feel sorry for him; I'm laughing at his misfortune."

The lunch bell rang, dismissing the upper classman from lunch. Shinon and Gatrie threw their remaining lunches away, a smile quietly passing between them.

"I get the feeling your Goth friend doesn't like me," Ranulf told Ike after Soren had left for the restroom.

"Soren doesn't like most people," Ike replied with a shrug. He was used to Soren's curt, cold ways. "And he hates being called a Goth."

"Well he shouldn't dress like a Goth."

"Hey Ike," a boy with short, spiky green hair said, sliding into Soren's now-empty seat.

"Hey Boyd," Ike replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing. You going to football tryouts afterschool?"

"Of course."

"Hello," Ranulf said. "Person here."

"Oh!" Boyd exclaimed. "Hey Ike, who's the newbie?"

"My name is Ranulf," the cat said.

"Well nice to meet you, Ranulf…oh, before I forget, Ike: some seniors hoisted Soren up the flagpole."

"What!" Ike exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Not again."

"Again?" Ranulf asked, following Ike. "When did he get pulled up a flagpole in the first place?"

"Back in elementary school," the blue-haired freshman responded.

Ike rushed outside to see a crowd of people gathered around the school flagpole; the unfortunate Soren was dangling from the top. "Move it!" Ike exclaimed, shoving his way through the dense crowd. "Soren!" he exclaimed upon reaching the middle.

Soren glared down at Ike from the top of the flagpole. "You're late," he retorted.

"Late?" the offended Ike asked. "I'm here to help, and that's all you can say? Honestly Soren, where would you be if I wasn't here to help you?"

"Obviously he'd be stuck up a flagpole," Ranulf snickered.

Ike reached for the rope to hoist Soren down.

"Hey!" an obnoxious voice exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ike turned to find two seniors glaring at him. One was thin with a long, red ponytail; the other was large and muscular with light brown hair. It had been the redhead who had just spoken. "I am helping my friend."

"Not after all the trouble it took to get him up there," the brunette said. "We'd like to enjoy our handiwork for a moment. So you'll have to wait for a few minutes."

"No."

"Excuse me?" the redhead asked. "But what are you, a fish, going to do about it?"

"This," Ike said, slugging the redhead square in the face.

A unified gasp rose from the on looking crowd. A freshman had just punched a senior. The redhead glared at Ike. "Bad idea." He punched Ike hard in the jaw, moving to land another blow.

The crowd reassembled to give the two more room to fight. The chant of "fight, fight, fight…" was quickly taken up. The fracas was on.

Janaff and his friend Ulki (a dark, somber, and quiet hawk) were walking outside the school campus.

"Can you hear someone chanting fight?" Ulki asked.

"I can see a fight, dumbass," Janaff retorted.

Ulki whacked Janaff upside the head. "We'd better alert a teacher."

"Actually," Janaff said, pointing to a very pissed off English teacher heading toward the fight.

The large crowd of people chanting "Fight, fight, fight…" was a dead giveaway that, well, a fight was occurring. Titania sighed. As an English teacher/Principal's assistant, she was often breaking up fights and other problems. Sadly, she was not surprised this was happening on the first day of school. _Fifty bucks it's Shinon_, she thought, knowing that the redhead had a penchant for causing trouble.

A student from the crowd spotted her. "Teacher!" he exclaimed. The crowd cleared quickly—real quickly. The only people left were a cat laguz and green-haired beorc lowering an exasperated raven-haired beorc from the flagpole. (How the hell did that happen?) Gatrie was slowly inching away from the fight. Two boys were busy punching the crap out of each other. One was Shinon (no surprise); the other was…Ike? (Big surprise, no wait. Not really).

Titania sighed. "Ike and Shinon, Principal's office. Right now!"

_Just line it up, straight to the hole,_ Greil thought, tapping his golf ball into the paper cup on the ground. The intercom on his desk buzzed. "Principal Greil, I have two fighters here."

Greil sighed. Why couldn't these nimrods just behave for one day? Luckily he had hired a new discipline director who would hopefully inculcate a new respect for the rules in students. "Send them in, Titania." _Fifty-five bucks it's Shinon._

When Shinon entered, Greil was in no way surprised. Shinon may have been a smart student, but he had multiple disciplinary issues. Greil was surprised when the second student entered, but only for a moment. "Why?" he asked his son

"Listen Dad," Ike started to say.

"_Dad_?" Shinon asked with a snicker. "Wait a second—I beat up the Principal's son?" (He looked extremely pleased with himself.)

"What happened?" Greil asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"Ask your _son_, he started it."

"You hoisted Soren up the flagpole!" Ike exclaimed.

"Seniors haze freshmen. It's a fact of life. Suck it up and deal with it, kid."

Greil sighed. There was a knock on the door. "Enter," he said.

A massive, ominous figure with a flowing red man entered. "I trust I am not interrupting anything," the lion laguz said.

"Ah Caineghis," Greil said with a wry smile. "Just the person I need. Seeing as you are our new discipline director, I think you should meet the two students who will be serving detention tomorrow after school." (No one served detentions on the first day due to sports tryouts. All detentions started on the second day.)

Both boys looked up at Caineghis, wide-eyed and gulping. Suddenly the prospect of future detentions lost all appeal.

"Well, I hope I'll only see them once," Caineghis replied before leaving.

"Shinon, you are dismissed back to class," Greil said. "Ike, stay."

As soon as Shinon closed the door behind him, a nerve-wracking silence engulfed the room. Ike shifted uncomfortably as he languished under his father's intense gaze. "Look Dad…" he started to say.

"What am I going to do with you?" Greil asked.

"He hoisted Soren up the flagpole; what do you want me to do?"

"Not get in a fight."

"But…"

"You can't use Soren as an excuse to avoid the repercussions of your actions."

"I'm not trying to avoid detention; I'm merely trying to justify my reason for fighting."

"There are more tactful ways to solve a problem other than punch first, think later. You could have gotten a teacher."

"I'm not a teacher's pet," Ike responded. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to behave." Greil sighed, scribbling Ike a hall pass. "We will talk more on this tonight, but I want you to try and act like a Principal's son for once."

"I'll try," Ike muttered, heading to his next class.

"Come on, Lucia," Elincia said, dragging the blue-haired senior into a large classroom. "It's just drama, and you need this fine arts credit to graduate."

"I didn't sign up for drama; I signed up for art. I hate acting. I do not want to do this."

"You don't have a choice. Art is full, and you can't sing or play a musical instrument. You have to do drama if you want to gradcuate."

"There are fifteen billion reasons not to take drama."

"And most of them start with Bastian. Now let's go!"

Lucia scowled as she allowed Elincia to drag her into the classroom. It wasn't as if she couldn't act (she was actually quite good). It was a certain star thespian—Bastian. (Lucia hated fine arts in general, but that was besides the point.)

"Welcome to drama," a tall, light blue-haired dragon laguz said. "I am Nasir, your teacher. Or as I preferred to be addressed: your Drama Coach. Now I understand that not everyone is comfortable acting onstage, so I will allow some of you to work exclusively as stage managers during productions. However, you will still have to participate in group activities and do the homework the actors do, but I will never force you onstage.

"Now we'll be starting this year running. We have the epic romance, _Romeo and Juliet_ scheduled for the weekend before Homecoming. It will be a lot of work for you, but I am positive each of you will work your hardest to bring this play together.

"We are also lucky to have a Romeo already. Our star thespian, Bastian, will play our main protagonist… Where is Bastian?"

A senior entered the classroom. He could in no way be considered a jock. He had long, curly blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and the beginning of a goatee. (The school really didn't have a strict dress code when it came to hair and accessories.) "Sorry I have arrived after the predetermined hour of the beginning of class; I had many tasks which I needed to complete prior to my arrival here."

"He's so romantic," a group of girls said, staring love-struck at him.

"Isn't it enough to say 'Sorry I'm late; I was busy'?"

Elincia rolled her eyes at both Bastian's bombastic, poetic speech and Lucia's blunt annoyance at him. She was used to how her older guardians acted by now. Her eyes fell on the tall freshman leaning against the wall. When had Ike gotten a black eye? She would have to ask him about that when they had a moment of free time.

"Now would everyone who would like to audition for a part in _Romeo and Juliet_ please form a line alongside that end of the classroom while everyone else take seats in the desks?" Nasir asked. "I will start listening to auditions in five minutes." (The classroom had a raised platform like a stage on one end with the desks facing the stage.

Elincia watched as Lucia strode over to the desks, plopping down in one far away from where Bastian sat next to Nasir. Ike also took a seat somewhere further in the back, laying his head down as if he was sleeping. (Obviously he had to be in a situation similar to Lucia's: no other option for a fine art block. Of course, unlike Lucia, he hadn't put it off until his senior year.)

With a nervous gulp, she realized that it was her turn to audition. Taking a deep breath of air, she walked onto the small, raised stage, delivering the short monologue she had memorized.

"Very good voice intonation and facial expressions," Nasir commented when she finished speaking. "However, you seem extremely nervous."

"Yes," Elincia said with a shy smile.

"So I think a non-speaking role would serve you well in your first play," Nasir replied. "In fact, I believe the role of Rosaline will suit you just well."

"Thank you," Elincia said as she hurried off the stage.

"Hey Lucia, perhaps you would like to show us some of your phenomenal acting prowess," Bastian called.

"Absolutely not," the blue-haired girl said, glaring at her fellow senior.

"Oh, but I have only heard positive about your acting," Nasir replied.

"Bastian exaggerates everything," Lucia shot back.

Elincia used her friend's distraction to walk back up to Ike. He glanced up in shock when she sat in the desk in front of his. "How did you get that black eye?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure you didn't have that this morning."

Ike shrugged. "I got in a fight with a kid who hoisted Soren up the flagpole."

"Soren is your friend?" Elincia asked.

"Best friend since practically forever," Ike responded.

"I think it's nice how you look after your friends," Elincia said.

"Listen," Lucia said. "I would rather shove one of those fake plastic daggers painfully into my heart inch by inch and bleed to death than be in this play."

"Such passion and fire," Nasir mused. "You would be perfect for the role of Juliet."

Lucia's eyes widened dramatically. "Did you not just hear a word I said? I do not want…"

Nasir walked over to Lucia. "I'll make you a deal: you do that all the time to avoid detentions, correct? I've seen your record. You be the lead in this play, since I know none of the other girls here have either the experience or skill to be a lead. Your friend Elincia is promising as well as several other freshmen, but they would be easily overcome by stage fright. If you be Juliet, then I give you a full course of credit after one semester."

Lucia's eyes narrowed. "So I play Juliet, and only have to suffer until Christmas?"

"Pretty much."

"I have to kiss Bastian, don't I?"

"This play is a romance, so yes."

"Kiss Bastian versus the rest of the year with him."

"Do I have an answer?"

"I'll do it."

Nasir smiled. "Wonderful. Now let's continue with the rest of the casting."

Elincia idly watched some of the auditions. The green-haired boy from her homeroom (Sothe) and another boy Edward received parts as the servants who instigated the fight at the beginning of the play. A handsome blond named Leonardo received the part of Tybalt. She turned over to Ike who looked like he was trying to sleep. "Are you trying out for football, I presume?"

"Yeah," Ike responded. "Are you doing any sports?"

"I might try volleyball since Lucia will be on the team, although she'll be on Varsity. I'm not much for running cross country. My friend Geoffrey will be trying out for football as well. He's Lucia's brother."

"Ah," Ike said, remembering the boy with light blue hair who had been walking into school with her earlier. He idly glanced up at Lucia, only to find the girl glaring at him intensely. His entire body tensed.

"Is something wrong?" Elincia asked with a sweet smile.

"I don't think your friend likes me," he said awkwardly.

Elincia turned around to wave at Lucia. "She's just a bit overprotective," the emerald-haired girl said. "She's like my older sister and everything."

Ike absently nodded. "I take it you know that Bastian as well."

"Yeah, he's one of my friends as well. He tends to talk very poetically."

"I noticed," Ike remarked wryly. He started slightly as the bell signaling the end of school rang.

"See you tomorrow, Ike!" Elincia called, running over to Lucia. The blue-haired senior sent him a very pointed, scathing look, twice as intimidating as the one she had sent him in the morning.

Ike swallowed nervously as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. Best to get to his first day of football. He had heard that the coach took the punishment for lateness very seriously.

_A/N: Guess who the coach is? Hope you all liked this chapter. Please feel free to click the little "review" button below. Thanks for reading! I will put a list of the faculty at the end of the next chapter._


	2. Football Tryouts and One Tough Coach

_A/N: Here comes chapter two, which will be much shorter than my ridiculously long chapter one. Thanks to my brother for giving me advice on football practices (which I have no experience with)._

Chapter Two: Football Tryouts and One Tough Coach

"So, what did the parental unit have to say to you?" Boyd asked Ike as he, Ranulf, and Ike headed for the football practice field.

"Parental unit?" Ranulf asked. "Did they seriously call your parents for starting a fight with that senior?"

"Ike's dad is the principal," Boyd replied with a smirk. "Every time Ike gets in trouble, his dad will know."

Ranulf winced. "Ooh. That must suck although I'm sure having your dad as principal has its own benefits."

"None that I can think of," Ike said. "It's not like I'll ever get off scotch free; my dad's a strict believer in discipline. Have you seen the guy he hired to be the Director of Discipline?" Ike shuddered at the thought of the large laguz.

Ranulf smirked. "Oh, Caineghis? He wouldn't hurt a fly…unless that fly did something to make him deserve being squished, but that's a different story."

"Thanks for the reassurance, Ranulf," Ike said.

"Anything, Ike-buddy," Ranulf said. "So, did you talk with that girl any more today?"

"What girl?" Boyd asked, looking at Ike curiously.

"Why is that any of your business?" Ike asked, glaring at the blue cat laguz.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ranulf replied with a smug smirk.

"Are we talking about this Ike and a girl?" Boyd asked.

"A very attractive girl if I do say so myself," Ranulf said. "But as a beorc, she's just not my taste."

"Ike and a _girl_?" Boyd asked skeptically.

"Yep."

"What does she look like?"

"Long, flowing green hair and gold eyes," Ranulf responded. "However, she looked like she was one of those upper class girls. Poor Ike just doesn't stand a chance."

"I'm not in love with her," Ike said. "I hardly know her."

"Which means that you know her a little bit," Ranulf smirked.

"Ike finally found a girl," Boyd said.

"Oh, and you have a girl?" Ike countered.

"Uh yeah," Boyd responded. "Maybe I'm not going out with Mist, but….I mean, uh…"

"Mist?" Ike asked in a deadly serious tone. "As in Mist, my baby sister?"

"No, a, uh, different Mist," Boyd responded.

"You come within a foot of my sister, and I beat the crap out of you," Ike responded.

"Is that a challenge?" Boyd asked.

"No, it's a threat," Ike replied.

"So is your sister cute?" Ranulf asked.

"None of your business," Ike responded.

"Most definitely," Boyd said.

"Stay away from her."

"She hangs out with my little brother all the time; I'm gonna see her at some point."

"So, you gonna introduce me to her later?" Ranulf asked.

"No," Ike responded.

"Oh, this is because I'm a laguz isn't it?" Ranulf asked in an offended tone.

"That has nothing to do with this," Ike responded.

"It's because we would embarrass him," Boyd responded.

Ike did not say anything to that statement as the trio joined the large crowd of people gathered around the edge of the practice field by the water jugs. "I guess we finally get to meet this coach Dad has been bragging about for the last week. He must be pretty fearsome."

They noticed a wolf laguz taking down names on a clipboard. The three walked over to him. "Names?" he asked.

"Ike, Ranulf, and Boyd," the blue-haired beorc said, pointing to each person. "I guess you're the coach."

The wolf laguz shook his head. "Assistant coach."

"Then you…" Ranulf started to ask.

"All right, everyone line up and face me!" a loud voice called over the various conversations going on. "Seniors to the right, freshmen to the left. Sophomores and juniors fill in between the two."

All eyes turned in shock to the athletic female standing confidently on the field. Strange tattoo-like markings covered her arms and legs. Bushy silver hair fell around her serious, tan face. Her eyes dared anyone to defy her.

"A girl?" a redhead beside Ike muttered. "This has got to be a joke; I doubt that she could even knock me over."

"I am Nailah," the wolf laguz said, "your football coach for this year. I am the supreme authority on this field. If I ask you to do something, you will do it, no questions asked, no complaints."

A young beorc raised his hand in the back. "You have a tail."

The woman rolled her eyes. "As usual, you beorcs have this annoying habit of pointing out the obvious. Yes, I am aware of the fact that I have a tail. I am a wolf laguz, now…"

A cat laguz raised his hand. "You're a girl."

"My mistake, it's not just beorcs," Nailah muttered. "I'm glad all of you can recognize basic female anatomy. Any other observations?"

Ike could hear some disbelief amid the grumblings of the players. He knew his father must hold this Nailah in high regard for he had been boasting about the new football coach for a week, but still…What could a female laguz do?

Nailah smirked, obviously conscious of what her new players were grumbling about. "I understand I am not what you expected in a coach. No doubt you expected some strong, muscular male with a strong demeanor. Let me tell you I am probably much more qualified than such a brute. I am the All-Time Laguz Football Player of the Year for six years in a row, the MVP of the Interracial Laguz College in Gallia, and the star player of the Laguz Bowl. I can guarantee that I know more about football in any position than any single one of you punks. Volug!"

"She's not lying," Ranulf whispered, mismatched eyes wide in shock and awe. "She's amazing; I've seen her on TV and everything!"

Her assistant (the wolf laguz who had been taking names) tossed her a football. She smirked at the large group of players available. "Now, who was the starting quarterback last year?"

A cocky redhead took a few steps forward. "Right here," he said with a self-absorbed smirk. Ike instantly recognized him as Shinon, the senior he had gotten in a fight with earlier. The urge to punch that smirk off his face increased tenfold.

Nailah flung the football at him, striking him square in the chest, sending him staggering backwards. "Quarterbacks gather around the fifty yard line," she said with her own smirk. Everyone gaped at the speed and power behind her throw. "Offensive linemen and defensive linemen go to that side of the field; if you do both or want to do both, just pick one for today. Offensive on the thirty, defensive on the ten. Running backs and wide receivers on the opposite thirty and ten in that order. Today I will run you through some basic drills to see what skills are your best. Keep in mind that you may be assigned a different position based off what I see."

She paused in front of the redhead near Ike who had said something about her not being able to knock him down. Even though she barely shoved him, she still exerted enough force to cause him to fall to the ground. "I am more than capable of knocking any one of you to the ground."

"Well, looks like we'll have to split up," a boy with light brown hair said, smiling apologetically at his two friends. "Looks like I'm heading to the wide receiver area; at least you'll be close by, Sothe."

The green-haired freshman smirked. "Yeah, I hope to blind them with my awesome speed. I feel sorry for you though, Leonardo." He turned to their blond friend. "You have to put up with High Royal Highness, Mr. Pain-in-the-ass Senior Quarterback himself."

Leonardo shrugged. "You and Edward will have to put up with similar cocky upper classmen."

"Yeah," Edward chimed. "But at least ours aren't total d-bags."

"Point taken," the blond said before walking over to the fifty yard line. Sothe headed to where the group of running backs was while Edward joined the wide receivers.

Meanwhile, Ike and Boyd had started to move over to the defensive end of the field. Ranulf had quickly waved goodbye to hurry over to where the running backs were gathering.

"So," Boyd said. "Which side are you going to pick, offensive or defensive? Personally, I think that I'm going to go with the offensive linemen because they have the more important goal of guarding the quarterback. What do you say, Ike?"

Ike took one look at Shinon's cocky and arrogant face and knew that he would never willingly guard the senior if he could avoid it. "Sorry, Boyd," he said. "I'm not defending _that_ guy. He walked over to the group of defensive linemen.

"You were talking with Ranulf earlier, correct beorc?" a voice asked.

Ike turned around to stare up at a large beast laguz. His flaming red hair reminded him of the fearsome Director of Discipline he had met previously. "Yeah, I guess you two know each other?"

"Back in Gallia, yes," the large beast laguz said. "Name's Skrimir."

"Ike. Do you happen to know the new Discipline Director because…"

"Yes, he's my uncle. I take it you met him when you got busted for fighting Shinon."

Ike shuddered at the memory. "Yes. Your uncle is very intimidating. I guess you saw the whole fight."

"Yes. I wanted to punch the little prick in the face myself. Hence why I'm playing defense."

"Same here," Ike replied with a smile. "I say we team up on the good Shinon first chance we get."

"Unfortunately you will not be tackling anyone today," Nailah said, walking past Ike and Skrimir. "You will be practicing on dummies and perhaps other linemen for today. I will not see you taking out your petty disagreements with your quarterback on this field. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Ike said. However, he knew at some point in a future practice, he would be given the opportunity to take Shinon down. He would be looking forward to it with much satisfaction.

"All right then," Nailah said. "My assistant Volug has sent up a series of practice dummies for you linemen to show me your skills. We have two sets of pads in each size for you to borrow when it is your turn to go at the dummies. You will receive your own pads should you make either the Varsity or Junior Varsity teams. Now then, form three different lines. When I say go, you practice tackling the dummies. I will be watching to see your form and strength. First three, go!"

After at least five runs into the dummies, Ike could feel the impact in his shoulders. His dad had made sure Ike had learned the proper form of tackling. However, Nailah was making sure that they worked their hardest each try.

"Good," Nailah said. "You may get a water break while I work with the offensive linemen. Afterwards, continue to work on the dummies while I see how the rest of the team is doing."

"Not bad for a freshman beorc," Skrimir observed as they headed over to the water station.

Ike shrugged. "Are you a junior or a senior?"

"Senior," the lion laguz replied.

"Ah," Ike said.

Skrimir slapped him hard on the back, causing Ike to stagger forward, nearly falling flat on his face. However, he kept his balance and therefore his dignity. "You're all right for a freshman."

"Thanks," Ike muttered, eying the large laguz warily. He did not want to be knocked down while trying to get a drink.

"Dude, the new Coach is tough for a girl," Boyd said as Ike walked away from Skrimir.

"I would leave off the 'girl' part," Ike muttered. "She'll probably make us run extra for comments like that."

"Probably," Boyd responded.

"All right, linemen," Nailah yelled from her position by the wide receivers. "You are just getting a water break, not socializing. When you are done, resume the tackle drills or do something productive such as pushups or squats. Do not just stand around idly chitchatting."

"Looks like we better go before she decides to kill us," Boyd responded. "I don't want to die on my first day of football."

Ike nodded, rushing back onto the field so he would not have to face the wrath of Nailah.

"All right," Nailah said at the end of the tryouts. "I suppose that is enough torture for one day. Results will be posted on the bulletin board outside the office tomorrow morning before school. If your name appears on either the Varsity or Junior Varsity list, I expect you to show up on time for practice to receive your pads and practice jerseys. You will get your game jerseys right before our first scrimmage in two weeks. You are dismissed."

Ike absently walked over to where he had left his stuff by the bleachers, feeling like his arms and legs were made of lead. He should have taken his father's advice and worked out more over the summer, but it was too late to change that now. He just hoped that he would survive the first few conditioning practices.

"Took you long enough," a familiar cheerful voice piped.

Ike looked up to the brunette girl leaning against the railing of the bleachers, a cheerful smile plastered across her face. "Mist," he said in acknowledgement.

She just smiled even bigger, tugging at the sailor collar of her middle school uniform. "I thought you would be out there all day."

Ike just shook his head; he thought they would be out there all day at the rate Nailah was working on them. "Why didn't you go find Dad?"

"He's still working," the girl responded. "And I can't go home by myself, so I waited on you."

Ike nodded. "Okay."

A familiar figure attached itself to his shoulder, nearly knocking him down in the process. "Hey Ike, who's this cutie?" Ranulf asked, smirking at his new friend.

"I'm his sister Mist," the brunette responded with her ever-friendly smile.

"Name's Ranulf," the cat laguz said. "His new best buddy."

"Soren will get jealous," Mist said jokingly.

"Soren doesn't get anything except irritated," Ike responded. "I've never seen the guy smile."

"Why do you hang out with him?" Ranulf asked.

"I protect him from bullies; he keeps me from failing. It's a mutual relationship."

"Wow Ike," Mist said. "I didn't even know that you knew what a 'mutual relationship' was."

Ike glared at his little sister as Ranulf burst out laughing. "All right Mist," he said. "Let's start heading home."

"I'm pretty sure Titania will be finishing up by now so we can probably catch a ride with her," the girl said, grabbing her shoulder bag. Ike envied her obvious lack of homework. His teachers had been evil.

"See ya tomorrow, Ranulf," Ike responded.

"See ya Ikie-boy," Ranulf said. "Check out the bulletin board to see if you made it."

Ike nodded. "Will do."

This had to be some kind of joke. Ike stared at the sheet of paper posted on the bulletin board in shock. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Sure enough, his name was written in plain print on the list. _Varsity_. He had made the Varsity team.

"Man," Boyd said, slapping Ike on the back. "You are lucky. I only made Junior Varsity, and here you are on the Varsity first year."

"There's no way a fish like _you_ could make Varsity," a familiar, obnoxious voice said. Shinon and Gatrie walked over to the bulletin board, only briefly glancing at the Varsity roster. They knew that they had made it.

Ike felt his hands clench into fists at his sides. His father would tell him to take a deep breath and walk away. He really did not need to get in any more trouble for fighting, especially fighting the same guy. However, he really wanted to punch Shinon in the face again.

Before the blue-haired teen could retaliate, a massive figure stepped between Shinon and Ike to check the roster. "Excuse me," Caineghis said. His eyes scanned the page briefly before walking off. Shinon and Gatrie were no way to be seen once the large laguz had left.

"Who was that?" Boyd asked in awe.

"The new Director of Discipline," Ike responded.

"And you have detention today?" Boyd asked.

Ike could only nod, wide eyes following the large, intimidating figure.

"I feel so sorry for you."

A trio of students from their grade walked over to the Junior Varsity roster, scanning it a couple of times. "All right!" the brunette exclaimed. "We all made it!"

"I don't see Sothe's name," the blond replied.

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked. "He definitely made the team."

"It's not here," the blond responded.

Both turned to their green-haired companion. "I guess I just didn't make the cut," he said with a mostly indifferent shrug. However, Ike could detect the slight slump in his shoulders.

"I think I saw your name on the Varsity list," Ike input.

"What!" all three exclaimed. They rushed over to the list. "Holy Ashunera!" the brunette exclaimed. "You made Varsity!"

The green-haired kid smiled smugly. "Yeah," he said, turning to Ike. "I'm Sothe."

"Ike," the blue-haired teen said.

"Edward and my buddy Leonardo," the brunette added.

"Boyd," Boyd said.

"You're that kid that got into a fight with Shinon yesterday, aren't you?" Leonardo asked.

"No way!" Sothe exclaimed. "You're practically famous all around the school. Everybody's been talking about you."

"Really?" Ike asked almost sheepishly. "I only did it because he was picking on my friend."

"It's just a pity that you will have to put up with him for the rest of the year," Leonardo said. "You'll be on Varsity with him."

Ike shrugged. "I can take him."

The first bell rang, signaling the students to head to homeroom. "See ya," Boyd said.

Ike nodded, absently following Sothe since they had the same homeroom. By the time they had reached the classroom, Ike had a new friend.

_A/N: Yeah, I know, the ending isn't that great. _

_Next time: an epic two-on-two girls versus boys match in an unlikely sport. Beach volleyball?_


End file.
